The role of tocilizumab in the treatment of inflammatory diseases of the eye and orbit: A useful alternative

Efficiency and Safety of Tocilizumab for the Treatment of Thyroid Eye Disease: A Systematic Review

PURPOSE

To review existing literature concerning the effectiveness and safety of tocilizumab (TCZ) for managing thyroid eye disease.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted across the PubMed and Embase databases to identify studies on TCZ therapy, from inception to May 2023. The search included the keywords "Graves orbitopathy," "thyroid ophthalmopathy," "thyroid eye disease," "thyroid-associated orbitopathy," "thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy," "Graves ophthalmopathy," "endocrine ophthalmopathy," and "Tocilizumab." Only articles written in English, Spanish, or French were considered.

RESULTS

Among the 1,013 articles initially screened, a total of 29 fulfilled the eligibility criteria and were selected. Most studies were case reports or case series, and only one randomized clinical trial was found. TCZ has been used mainly in glucocorticoid-resistant or relapsing cases, with a dosage ranging from 4 or 8 mg/kg every 4 weeks when intravenous or a weekly subcutaneous dose of 162 mg. Treatment duration is usually adjusted to the clinical response. TCZ is mostly effective in reducing inflammatory signs during the active phase of thyroid eye disease, with an improvement of at least 3 points in clinical activity score and an overall relapsing rate of 8.2%. Numerous studies have shown marked reductions in proptosis; although the only available randomized controlled trial reported a nonstatistically significant improvement 6 months after treatment, a recent meta-analysis indicated that TCZ seems to be the most effective treatment for reducing proptosis. No severe side effects related to intravenous or subcutaneous TCZ administration were reported.

DISCUSSION

Despite these promising findings, randomized clinical trials to directly compare the efficacy and safety of TCZ and other currently available therapeutic options are needed.

Tocilizumab in management of refractory juvenile idiopathic arthritis, 10 years of experience at tertiary university hospital

Background

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most prevalent pediatric rheumatic disorder. Progress in modalities of therapy improves the disease outcome. We aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab (TCZ) in the management of systemic (sJIA) and polyarticular (pJIA) in children who are resistant to conventional as well as other biological therapies. In this retrospective study, we selected JIA patients according to the International League of Association for Rheumatology (ILAR) criteria and were treated with TCZ. Response to TCZ was assessed using Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score-10 (JADAS-10) and also outcomes were assessed according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) remission criteria. Safety of the drug was assessed by documenting possibly related adverse effects (AE). Statistical analysis using SPSS version 25 with statistical significance is considered if p ≤ 0.05. We included 16 JIA patients aged ≤ 18 years but 2 of them were excluded as they developed severe reaction during the TCZ 1st dose, so finally, 14 patients were included.

Results

The median age of our patients was 12 years. Of these 14 patients, 9 (64.3%) had sJIA and 5 (35.7%) had pJIA. TCZ use led to significant improvement in the JADAS-10 from mean 22.4 (± 7.9) when it was initially assessed and then 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after TCZ initiation with means 5.7 (± 3.9), 4.4 (± 3.7), 3.5 (± 3.1), and 2.7 (± 2.2), (P = 0.001, 0.001, 0.005, 0.012), respectively. Five patients exhibited TCZ possibly expected side effects. Neutropenia and infusion-related reactions were the most frequent AE.

Conclusions

Tocilizumab seems to be generally effective and safe drug in the management of sJIA and pJIA especially in cases refractory to conventional as well as other biologic agents.

Current Approach for the Diagnosis and Management of Noninfective Scleritis

ABSTRACT

Scleritis is a rare, vision-threatening inflammation of the sclera that is often associated with life-threatening systemic illnesses. Rheumatoid arthritis remains the most common associated systemic rheumatic disease and the commonest systemic association of scleritis. Granulomatosis with polyangiitis is the most common cause of vasculitis-associated scleritis. The etiopathogenesis of scleritis remains unclear, but can be immune complex-mediated or due to a local delayed hypersensitivity reaction. Scleritis can involve either the anterior or posterior sclera, and has a wide spectrum of clinical presentations. Among the subtypes of scleritis, necrotizing scleritis has an increased risk of complications and is more commonly associated with anterior uveitis and peripheral ulcerative keratitis. Posterior scleritis is often not diagnosed or missed due to its subtle clinical signs and protean manifestations. Meticulous history taking, detailed ocular examination, and a targeted array of investigations with a multi-disciplinary approach to find any underlying systemic disease are crucial for the management of a case of scleritis. Corticosteroids remain the mainstay of short-term treatment of scleritis; mild to moderate scleral inflammation may respond well to treatment with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug or topical corticosteroid. Corticosteroid-sparing immunosuppressive therapies are useful in cases with an inadequate response or failure to provide long-term control of inflammation, and to prevent recurrence of scleritis. Biologic agents are increasingly used in the management of scleritis, not responding to the conventional therapies. This review provides an overview of the various subtypes of scleritis and its systemic associations and evaluates current trends in the diagnosis and management of noninfective scleritis.

Tocilizumab in a Case of Refractory Idiopathic Orbital Inflammation: 6-Year Follow-Up Outcomes

Idiopathic orbital inflammation (IOI) is a noninfectious inflammatory disease whose etiology remains unknown. Treatment is focused on reducing inflammation, which becomes challenging in nonresponding cases. We report the case of a 59-year-old woman with refractory IOI that showed a positive response to tocilizumab therapy. The patient was diagnosed with a unilateral sclerosing IOI for 9 years and showed a negative control with previous oral steroids, peribulbar steroid injections, radiotherapy, immunosuppressors, and intravenous rituximab. After the initiation of 8 mg/kg intravenous tocilizumab, a complete reduction of the pain and the orbital inflammation signs was observed and her condition remained stable for the following 6 years under a monthly dose of 4 mg/kg. In recalcitrant IOI cases, tocilizumab could be considered a possible treatment to reduce inflammatory signs and symptoms with positive long-term outcomes as in our case.

Serious adverse events with tocilizumab: Pharmacovigilance as an aid to prioritize monitoring in COVID-19

Given its approval for the treatment of cytokine release syndrome, tocilizumab is under investigation in severe coronavirus disease-2019. To characterize serious adverse events (AEs) with tocilizumab, we queried the worldwide FDA Adverse Event Reporting System and performed disproportionality analysis, selecting only designated medical events (DMEs) where tocilizumab was reported as suspect, with a focus on hepatic reactions. The reporting odds ratios (RORs) were calculated, deemed significant by a lower limit of the 95% confidence interval (LL 95% CI) > 1. A total of 2,433 reports of DMEs were recorded with tocilizumab, mainly in rheumatic diseases. Statistically significant RORs emerged for 13 DMEs, with drug-induced liver injury (n = 91; LL 95% CI 3.07), pancreatitis (151; 1.41), and pulmonary fibrosis (222; 7.21) as unpredictable AEs. A total of 174 cases of liver-related DMEs were retrieved (proportion of deaths = 18.4%), with median onset of 27.5 days. These serious unpredictable reactions occurring in chronic real-world tocilizumab use may support patient care and monitoring of ongoing clinical trials.

Use of Anti-Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha Agents in the Management of HLA-B-27-Associated Uveitis: The First Case Series from India

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of adalimumab (ADL) and golimumab (GLM) in patients with HLA-B-27-associated uveitis.Method: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with HLA-B-27-associated uveitis who had received subcutaneous GLM and ADL between 2014 and 2018.Results: The study included 14 patients, 12 of whom received subcutaneous ADL and two patients were treated with subcutaneous GLM. Median age of the patients was 31.5 years (range 17-53 years). The most common associated systemic disease in these patients was ankylosing spondylitis (92.8%). Majority of the patients had anterior uveitis (71.4%) followed by anterior uveitis and intermediate uveitis (28.6%).Conclusion: ADL/GLM is a useful therapeutic option in refractory cases of HLA-B-27-associated uveitis, especially in patients with associated systemic manifestations.